Garage door holder



Nov. 21, 1933.

H. H. RAYMOND 1,936,365 GARAGE DOOR HOLDER Filed June 24, 1932 Patented Nov. 21, 1933 UNITED STATES GARAGE DQOR HOLDER Horace Raymond, Berlin, Conn, assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application June 24, 1932. Serial No. 619,017

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for holding a door in open position, and while it has general application for that purpose, the device is particularly applicable for use in connection with garage doors and the like.

The general aim of the invention is to provide a device of this sort having various features of novelty and advantage and which is characterized by its elfectiveness and serviceability in operation, and by its strength, ruggedness and durability in construction, and which may be manufactured at a relatively low cost and easily installed.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide an improved garage door holder so constructed and arranged that it will prevent the door from being suddenly swung manually or by the wind to full open position, thus eliminating any undue jars or shocks which would otherwise result and preventing damage to the door structure, the hinges and the holder itself; that it will prevent teetering of the door after it is brought to full open position either under the force which was used to open the door or any external force, such as the wind; that it will brake the closing movement of the door so as to prevent undue slamming or hanging; and that it will hold the door against rattling against the door jamb or stop when the door is in closed position.

- Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein is shown, for illustrative purposes, one embodiment which the present invention may take:

Figure 1 is a top view showing the device applied to a door, the door being in open position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the door in closed position, the lintel being removed;

Fig. 3 is an inside view of the door structure, the door being in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional View through the device, this view being taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a View looking at the pivoted end of the bar.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the improved door holder, comprising the subject matter of the present invention, is shown as applied to a door A swingingly connected by hinges B to the jamb or side upright C of a door frame which has a lintel D. On the inside of the door frame and about the door opening is a stop or rabbet E against which the door is adapted to engage when the door is closed.

The door holder includes a bar'10 pivotally secured at one end, as by a rivet 11, to the free end of'a swivel arm 12 pivotally connected to a bracket or plate 13 secured to the door at a point spaced from the hinges therefor. The other or free end 'of the bar cooperates with a catch plate 14 secured to the under side of the topmember or lintel of the door frame. The bar 10 is generally in the form of a channel-shaped member open at its under side, and closed at its ends by end walls 10a, 101). Just short or the free end of the bar, the flanges thereof are notched as at 20, and these notches are adapted to receive a keeper portion 21 of the catch plate when the door is open, in a manner similar to that disclosed in the patent to Holtzhouser No. 1,266,269, granted May 14th, 1918. The catch plate has, above the keeper portion, an opening 22 through which the bar is adapted to move when the door is swung into and out of closed position. The bar, adjacent its free end, has a stop 23 adapted to engage the catch plate so as to limit opening movement of the door. The bracket. or door plate 13 has a horizontally disposed portion or web 25 provided at one side with an arcuate notch 26, the end 2'? of which constitutes a stop shoulder with which is adapted to cooperate a lug or car 29 so that rotary movement of the swivel arm 12 with respect to the door plate or bracket is limited when the door is opened. I

In accordance with the present invention, means is provided in the form of a frictional arrangement for snubbing or braking the opening and closing movements of the door and, while this means may take various'forms, it is here shown as including a friction disk of brass or the like interposed between the swivel arm and the door plate, and an adjustable spring 36 for holding the swivel arm frictionally against the disk. The swivel arm is pivotally connected to the bracket or plate 13 by a bolt 37 passing downwardly through the swivel arm, the center of the disk and the web 25 of the door plate. The spring 36 is positioned about the depending portion of the bolt and engages at its upper end against a washer 41 which, in turn, bears against the under side of the Web 25. On the lower end of the bolt is a washer 38 which bears against the lower end of the spring, and behind this washer is a nut 39. If desired, a sleeve 40 may be positioned about the spring in order to conceal the same. In order to re-set the frictional arrangement on a closing movement of the door (so that it will again be effective when the door is opened) there is provided on the door frame, preferably on the under side of the lintel, a resetting element which is in the form of a rightangled plate 34 having a depending flange 34a against which the front edge of the swivel arm is adapted to engage when the door is brought to closed position.

The means for releasing the bar 10 from the keeper, when it is desiredto close the door, includes a stiff wire or rod running through the channel of the bar and having its opposite ends journalled in the end walls 10a and 10b, respectively. The rod has, adjacent the notched portion of the bar, a bow or eccentric 42, and the extreme other end of the rod is bent over to form a crank 43 which terminates in a backward-1y turned projection or lug 44. A chain 45 is connected to the crank 43 between the ends of the latter. The end wall 102 has an upwardly a in a d u wardly xtendi shou de 46 which the lug 44 is adapted to enga e in order to limit rotary movement of the rod in the direction in which it is moved when it is desired to disengage the bar from the keeper. This bar releasing means is of an advantageous construction in that it is very simple and economical in arrangement and effective in operation. Sufficient leverage is provided to raise the free end of the bar and disengage it from the keeper with but small effort on the part of the operator,

The operation of the holder is briefly as iollows. When it is desired to open the door, it is swung from the closed position shown in Fig. 2 to the full line position shown in Fig. '1. While the door is moving from closed position to the partially open position shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, the free end of the bar slides through the catch plate and there is no angular movement between the swivel arm and the door. On further opening movement of the door, the swivel arm is prevented from moving with the door due to the fact that the bar is in looking engagement with the keeper or catch plate and, therefore, the door will be swung away from the swivel arm causing a rotary movement between these elements; When the door is thus moved relative to the arm, the friction between the arm and the disk 35, or between the disk and the web 25. of the'door plate, is brought into play to snub or brake the opening movement of the door. This snubbing or braking action prevents the door from being brought to an, abrupt stop when it reaches its limit of travel and thus damage to the structure is guarded against. After the door has been brought to its full open position, the door will not teeter under the force of the wind, the friction of the snubbing arrange ment being such as to hold the door against relative movement to the arm 12, and which arm is anchored at its free end by the bar 10. To close the door, a downward pull is exerted on the chain 45, thereby engaging the eccentric with the keeper portion 21 and raising the free end of the bar out of engagement with the catch plate. The door is then pushed to closed position, and during such swinging movement, friction will play no part until the door is almost closed when the swivel arm comes into contact with the re-setting plate 34. When the door completes its closing movement, the arm cannot swing further and, therefore, the door will be swung towards the arm. The result is that the swivel arm will be set from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2 (that is, the lug 29 is moved away from the stop shoulder 27) so that, when the door is again opened, the device will be effective to gently snub or brake the opening movement of the door. The closing movement of the door is checked or snubbed as the door is brought to closed position. It will thus be seen that upon both opening and closing movements of the door the shock, which would otherwise result if the door were thrown suddenly against a fixed stop, is absorbed by the frictional arrangement, and none of the energy absorbed by this frictional arrangement is retransferred to the door or the holder.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely dif- 35 ferent embodiments of this invention could. be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpretedjas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that t e lan ua e used in-the following claims is intended to cover ll Of t en ri nd pecific features of the invention herein d scribed and all stat ments. of 105 the scope of h invention which, a a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween,

I claim as my invention:

1. In a holder for doors, a bar for holding the door in open position, a swivel element to which 110 one end of said bar is pivotally connected, means for supporting said element for swivelling, move, ment, friction means for preventing free swivel: ling movement of said element with respect to said supporting means, and means for reesete ting said element with respect to the door as the door is brought to closed position,

2. n a h lder for do rs, a bar for oldin the d in p p s ti n, a swivel a mo which sa d bar is pivotally connected, a bracket to whi h said arm is pivotally connected, means tor pos tively limiting the rotary movement of the arm with respect to said bracket, friction means between said bracket and arm for preventing tree rotation of the arm with respect to the bracket, and means for re-setting said arm with respect to said bracket as the door is brou htto closed position.

3. In a holder for doors, a supporting member secured to the door, an arm swivelled to said 130 supporting member, a bar pivotally connected to said arm, a keeper with which said bar is adapted to interlock to hold the door open, a stop for limitin swinging movement of the arm away from the door, means for re-setting said arm to a positionaway from said stop when the door is brought to closed position, and means for preventing free rotation of the arm with re,- spect to said supporting member.

4. In a holder for doors, a supporting bracket adapted to be secured to the door, an arm swivelled to said supporting bracket, friction means between said bracket and arm for preventing free swivelling movement of the arm, a stop on said bracket for limiting swinging movement of the arm in a direction away from the door, a bar pivotally connected at one end to said arm, a keeper with which the other end of the bar is adapted to interlock when the door s in p n position, and a fixedebutment against 150 which said arm is adapted to engage for moving said arm towards the door when the door is brought to closed position.

5. In a holder for doors, a keeper, a bar slidable with respect to the keeper and having one end adapted for locking engagement therewith when the door is in open position, a swivel arm to which the other end of said bar is pivotally connected, means between the bracket and arm for limiting pivotal movement of the arm with respect to the bracket, interengaging frictional surfaces between said arm and bracket for holding said arm against free swivelling movement, means for adjusting the friction between said surfaces, and means for moving said arm relative to said bracket when the door is closed and in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved when the door is moved to full open position.

6. In a holder for doors, a bracket adapted to be secured to the door and provided with a stop shoulder, a swivel arm pivotally connected to the bracket and provided with a lug adapted to engage said shoulder, a friction disk interposed between said arm and bracket and in frictional engagement with both of said elements, a bolt pivotally connecting said arm to the bracket and passing through said friction disk, a spring about said bolt and urging said arm towards said bracket, a bar pivotally connected to the free end of said arm, a keeper adapted to be fixed to the door frame and with which said bar is adapted to interlock when the door is in open position, and a re-setting plate fixed to the door frame and against which said arm engages when the door is brought to closed position.

ment between the door and said swivel element.

8. In a holder for doors, an element mounted upon the door for swivelling movement, a bar pivotally connected to said element and adapted to be moved to an operative position in which it holds the door open and to an inoperative position, said element and bar being so relatively formed and arranged as to have free relative pivotal movement while the bar is moving from one of its extreme positions to the other but being locked against relative pivotal movement when the bar is in its operative or inoperative position, and friction means for preventing iree swivelling movement of said element with respect to the door.

9. In a holder for doors, an element mounted upon the door for swivelling movement, a bar pivotally connected to said element and adapted when in one of its positions to hold the door in open position, said element and bar being so relatively formed and disposed as to have free pivotal movement with respect to one another during the movement of the bar towards the position in which it holds the door open and to have no relative pivotal movement when the bar has reached said position, and friction means for preventing free swivelling movement of said element with respect to the door.

HORACE H. RAYMOND. 

